Soil properties and characteristics are related to the quantity and type of minerals in the clay fraction. The objective of this research was to characterize the clay fraction and study the crystallographic characteristics of kaolinites in red and yellow soils, in support of further research on the relationships of this mineral with the characteristics and properties of the dominant soils in coastal tablelands. The following evaluations were performed: determination of the coarse clay/fine clay ratio; mineralogical analyses (qualitative and quantitative) by DRX and by the Rietveld method; spectrum characterization by ERD to determine the hematite/goethite ratio; estimation of crystallographic properties (size and microtension) by DRX and mathematical models; the specific surface by BET-N2; fractal dimension; structural disorder degree by several indexes and analyses by electronic transmission microscopy. Results allow the following conclusions: (a) clay mineral quantification by the Rietveld method revealed the prevalence of kaolinites in all soils under study; (b) the Rietveld analysis of the DRX spectra suggests the coexistence of triclinic and monoclinic kaolinites; (c) the kaolinites < 0.2 µm in all soils were similar in terms of specific BET-N2 surfaces, mean size of the in-plan crystallite (001), structural disorder degree and fractal dimension, whereas the morphology, which was correlated with the parent material, was different.
Brazil; nanomorphology; Rietveld; kaolinites crystallinity; soil kaolinites
